* 


HORATIO  SEYMOUR. 


The  War  Record  of  a  Peace  Democrat. 

A  PEACE  MAN  IN  WAR,  A  WAR  MAN  IN  PEACE! 


Published  by  the  Union  Republican  Congressional  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C, 


Horatio  Seymour,  of  Utica,  New  York,  a  local  politician  of  some  note,  is  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  President. 

Mr.  Seymour  was  nominated  for  that  office  by  a  convention  of  rebel  Democrats, 
which  assembled  in  New  York  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1868,  after  he  had  re¬ 
peatedly  declared  that  lie  would  not  accept  the  position,  BECAUSE  IT  WOULD 
BE  DISHONORABLE  for  him  to  do  so,  and  would  BRING  PERIL  UPON 
HIMSELF  AND  HIS  PARTY. 

The  Convention  which  nominated  Mr.  Seymour  had  one  hundred  and  eighty - 
six  Southern  delegates,  one  hundred  and  ten  of  whom  WERE  IN  THE 
REBEL  SERVICE,  and  all  of  whom,  both  North  and  South,  either  gave  active 
aid  to  the  rebellion,  or  warmly  sympathized  with  its  authors.  Its  policy  was  shaped, 
its  platform  dictated,  and  its  candidates  designated  by  rebels,  whose  hands  were 
still  red  with  the  blood  of  murdered  Union  soldiers. 

C.  L.  VALLANDIGHAM,  a  man  banished  the  country  for  treason,  and  who 
acted  as  the  spy  of  the  “  Confederate  Government”  after  he  run  the  blockade 
and  reached  Canada,  was  the  man  they  selected  to  nominate  him  to  the  Convention. 
The  presentation  of  Mr.  Seymour’s  name  by  such  a  man  to  a  Convention  com¬ 
posed' of  such  materials  was  received  with  the  wildest  applause,  as  it  was  fit  it 
should  be;  and  he  was  accepted  as  their  candidate  by  acclamation.  Wade 
Hampton,  and  N.  B.  Forrest,  and  “Admiral”  Semmes,  and  every  rebel  in  the 
Convention,  claimed  his  nomination  as  a  concession  to  their  demands,  and 
boasted  that  by  his  election  THEY  WOULD  GAIN  ALL  THEY  HAD 
LOST  by  the  failure  of  the  rebellion.  His  record  during  the  war,  and  his  re¬ 
sistance  since  to  a  restoration  of  the  Southern  States  to  the  Union,  except  upon 
such  conditions  as  the  rebels  might  approve,  justified  this  confidence  in  his 
adaptation  to  their  purposes. 

His  effort  to  defeat  a  draft  to  fill  our  depleted  ranks  after  the  terrible  slaughter 
which  had  resulted  from  McClellan’s  imbecility,  or  disloyalty,  and  his  approval 
of  the  doctrine  that  all  the  reconstructed  State  governments  MUST  BE  OVER¬ 
THROWN,  is  the  only  guaranty  the  Southern  leaders  required  of  his.  fidelity 
to  their  interests. 

The  following  record  of  this  “peace  man  in  war  and  war  man  in  peace” 
will  show  how  well  they  have  judged  his  character,  and  how  safely  they  may 
rely  on  his  efforts  to  restore  to  them  the  Constitution  as  it  was  and  the  Union  as 
they  wo  Jd  have  it.  As  the  Democratic  press,  becoming  alarmed  at  the  arrqy  ot 


2 

evidence  against  him,  are  quoting  Mr.  Lincoln’s  and  Mr.  Stanton’s  certificate 
of  good  character  to  prove  his  loyalty,  we  present  the  other  side  of  the  picture : 

Why  They  Complimented  Seymour. 

Gov.  Tod,  of  Ohio,  in  a  recent  speech  at  Orwell,  in  that  State,  thus  satis¬ 
factorily  explains  the  matter : 

“  Seymour  is  an  intelligent  man.  I  know  him  well.  He  was  Governor  at 
the  same  time  I  was  Governor.  Mr.  Lincoln  called  for  volunteers.  I  sent  him 
only  thirty  thousand,  while  Seymour  sent  fifteen  thousand.  The  President  went 
round  complimenting  Seymour,  and  saying  nothing  about  what  I  had  done.  I 
took  Mr.  Lincoln  to  task  for  this.  I  said,  1  How  is  it  you  are  complimenting 
Seymour  for  his  fifteen  thousand  men ,  and  neglecting  to  compliment  Morton  and 
mef  ‘WHY,  TOD,  I  NEVER  THANKED  MRS.  LINCOLN  FOR  A 
CUP  OF  TEA  IN  MY  LIFE.’  The  truth  was,  Morton  and  I  had  done  noth¬ 
ing  more  than  what  was  expected  of  us,  while  Seymour  had.  He  had  never  done 
the  like  before  and  never  did  afterward .” 

Seymour  Forced  to  Sustain  the  War. 

Captain  Edward  Marshal,  a  brother  of  Thomas  F.,  made  a  speech  at  a  recent 
Democratic  ratification  meeting,  which  is  thus  sketched  in  a  Kentucky  paper : 

u  He  was  enthusiastic  in  support  of  Seymour,  and  gave  his  reasons  therefor.  He  said 
Seymour  was  nominated  as  a  war  Democrat  for  the  reason  that  no  other  could  win,  BU'T 
HE  HAD  NEVER  GIVEN  ANY  AID  OR  SUPPORT  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT 
IN  THE  PROSECUTION  OF  THE  WAR  WHEN  IT  COULD  BE  AVOIDED. 
In  1863,  when  the  rebel  troops  were  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Government  called  on  Sey¬ 
mour,  who  was  then  Governor  of  New  York,  to  furnish  troops  to  expel  them,  he  an¬ 
swered,  in  the  same  manner,  if  not  in  the  same  language,  as  the  Governor  of  Kentucky 
in  1861,  viz  :  THAT  HE  WOULD  NOT  SEND  THEM.  He  did  send  them,  however, 
FOR  THE  REASON  THAT  HE  WAS  UNABLE  TO  DO  OTHERWISE.” 

An  Original  Secessionist 

Mr.  W.  H.  Russell,  the  well-known  correspondent  of  the  London  Times t 
throws  some  additional  and  still  stronger  light  upon  the  question  of  Mr.  Sey¬ 
mour’s  secession  views  in  the  following  passage  from  his  published  “Diary  North 
and  South.”  Mr.  Russell  is  describing  a  dinner  party  in  New  York  in  1861 : 

“  The  occasion  offered  itself  to  Mr.  Horatio  Seymour  to  give  me  his  views  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  by  degrees  the  theme  spread  over 
the  table.  *  *  *  *  There  was  not  a  man  who  maintained  that 

the  Government  had  any  power  to  coerce  the  people  of  a  State  or  to  force  a 
State  to  remain  in  the  Union  or  under  the  action  of  the  Federal  Government. 
*  *  *  *  Mr.  Seymour  is  a  man  of  compromise,  but  his  views  go 

farther  than  those  which  were  entertained  by  his  party  two  years  ago.  Although 
secession  would  produce  revolution,  it  was,  nevertheless,  in  his  opinion,  a  right 
founded  on  abstract  principles,  which  could  scarcely  be  abrogated  with  due  regard 
to  the  original  compact .” 

Preferred  the  Rebel  Constitution. 

In  1861,  Mr.  Seymour,  meeting  Judge  Charles  H.  Ruggles,  asked  him  : 

“Judge,  have  you  read  the  Confederate  [Montgomery]  Constitution?  I  have; 
and  IT  IS  BETTER  TPIAN  OURS  [the  Federal.]  Then,  why  not,”  he  con¬ 
tinued,  “OBVIATE  ALL  DIFFICULTY"  BY  ’SIMPLY  ADOPTING 
THAT  [Confederate]  CONSTITUTION?” 

He  proposed  to  settle  the  war  by  having  the  wdiole  North  join  the  Confed¬ 
eracy,  and  adopting  the  rebel  constitution. 

“An  Inglorious  Warfare.” 

Following  up  this  right  which  “could  scarcely  be  abrogated,”  he  again  said 
at  the  Tweddle  Hall  Convention  in  Albany,  New  York,  January  31,  1861, 


was 


h  & 


L  >  rl&i'-h) 


fi  3 

before  Sumter  was  fired  on,  and  before  any  measure  of  an  arbitrary  nature 
instituted : 

"  We  are  advised  by  the  conservative  States  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  that  if 
force  is  to  be  used,  it  must  be  exerted  against  the  united  South.  It  would  be 
an  act  of  folly  and  madness,  in  entering  upon  this  -contest,  to  underrate  our 
opponents,  and  thus  subject  ourselves  TO  THE  DISGRACE  OF  DEFEAT  IN 
AN  INGLORIOUS  WARFARE.  LET  US  ALSO  SEE  IF  SUCCESSFUL 
COERCION  BY  THE  NORTH  IS.  LESS  REVOLUTIONARY  THAN 
SUCCESSFUL  SECESSION  BY  THE  SOUTH.  Shall  we  prevent  revolu¬ 
tion  by  being  foremost  in  overthrowing  the  principles  of  our  Government,  and 
all  that  makes  it  valuable  to  our  people  and  distinguishes  it  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth  ?”  '  -  b 

His  “Friends”  Threaten  Bloodshed  North. 

At  the  same  Convention,  James  P.  Thayer,  a  delegateand  friend  of  Seymour, 
followed  this  speech  in  the  following  words  : 

“The  public  mind  will  bear  the  avowal,  and  let  us  make  it — that  if  a  revolu¬ 
tion  of  force  is  to  begin,  IT  SHALL  BE  INAUGURATED  AT  HOME.  And 
if  the  incoming  Administration  shall  attempt  to  carry  out  the  line  of  policy 
that,  has  been  foreshadowed,  we  announce  that,  when  the  hand  of  Black  Repub¬ 
licanism  turns  to  blood-red,  and  seeks  from  the  fragment  of  the  Constitution  to 
construct  a  scaffold  for  coercion— another  name  for  execution— AYE  WILL  RE¬ 
VERSE  THE  ORDER  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION,  AND  SAVE 
THE  BLOOD  OF  THE  PEOPLE  BY  MAKING  THOSE  WHO  WOULD 
INAUGURATE  A  REIGN  .OF  TERROR  THE  FIRST  VICTIMS  OF  A 
NATIONAL  GUILLOTINE.”  [Enthusiastic applause.] 

Shall  we  Compromise  Before  cr  After  War? 

“This  question  is  simply  this:  SHALL  WE  LIAVE  COMPROMISE 
AFTER  WAR,  OR  COMPROMISE  WITHOUT  AVAR?  Shall  we  be  aided 
in  this  settlement  by  the  loss  of  national  honor,  the  destruction  of  individual 
interests,  and  the  shedding  of  blood  V’— Speech  at  Albany,  Jan.,  1861. 

“How  Shall  the  War  be  Conducted?”  x 

AVe  have  been  mad  enough  to  muster  armies  to  occupy  their  territory .  *  * 
*  *  But  some  have  suggested  with  complacent  air,  that  the  South  might  be  easily 
subjugated  by  blockading  their  ports  with  a  few  ships-of-war.”— Seymour's  Speech. 

Assailing  his  Government. 

“  W,hat  a  sPectade  do  we  present,  to-day  !  Already  six  States  have  withdrawn 
from  this  Confedciacy.  Revolution  has  actually  begun.  The  term  ^secession* 
divests  it  of  none  of  its  terrors,  nor  do  arguments  to  prove  secession  inconsistent 
with  our  Constitution  stay  its  progress  or  mitigate  its  evil.  ALL  VIRTUE 
PATRIOTISM.  AND  INTELLIGENCE  SEEM  TO  HAVE  FLED  FROM 
OUR  NATIONAL  CAPITAL;  it  has  been  well  likened  to  a  conflagration  of  an 
asylum  for  madmen  some  look  on  with  idiotic  imbecility ;  some  in  sullen  silence  : 
and  some  scatter  the  firebrands  which  consume  the  fabric  above  them,  and  brina 
upon  all  a  common  destruction.  IS  THERE  ONE  REVOLTING  ASPECT 
IN  THIS  SCENE  AVHICH  HAS  NOT  ITS  PARALLEL  AT  THE  CAPI¬ 
TAL  OF  YOUR  COUNTRY?  DO  YOU  NOT  SEE  THERE  THE  SENSE¬ 
LESS  IMBECILITY,  THE  GARRULOUS  IDIOCY,  TIIE  MADDENED 
RAGE,  DISPLAYED  WITH  REGARD  TO  PETTY  PERSONAL  PAS¬ 
SIONS  AND  PARTY  PURPOSES,  WHILE  THE  GLORY,  THE  HONOR 
AND  THE  SAFETY  OF  THE  COUNTRY,  ARE  ALL  FORGOTTEN? 

1  he  same  pervading  fanaticism  has  brought  evil  upon  all  the  institutions  of  our 
land.  Our  churches  are  torn  asunder  and  desecrated  to  partisan  purposes. 


-4 

The  wrongs  of  our  local  legislation,  the  growing  burdens  of  debt  and  taxation, 
the  gradual  destruction  of  the  African  in  the  Free  States,  which  is  markedly 
each  recurring  census,  j^e  all  due  to  the  neglect  of  'our  own  duties,  caused  by  a 
complete  absorption  ofnie  public  mind  by  a  senseless,  unreasoning  fanaticism.” 

Opposed  to  Coercion. 

September  1,  1864,  Horatio  Seymour,  the  Democratic  condidate  for  Pres¬ 
ident,  made  a  speech  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  In  that  speech  he  declared  that 
he  “would  not  denounce  this  [Abraham  Lincoln’s]  Administration  for  casual  acts 
of  wrong — I  would  not  denounce  it  because  its  members  have  erred  in  judgment 
—BUT  I  DENOUNCE  IT  BECAUSE  I  BELIEVE  IT  HAS  ENTERED 
UPON  A  SETTLED  COURSE  OF  POLICY  DANGEROUS  TO  THE 
WELFARE  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  It  proposes  to  put  down  the  rebellion  by 
two  powers — the  power  of  policy  and  the  power  of  the  army.” 

The  Rebel  Spirit  in  1864. 

Seymour  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  Rebel  Chicago  Convention  of  1864, 
and  was  chosen  President;  upon  taking  the  chair,  he  said  : 

“The  bigotry  of  fanatics  and  the  intrigues  of  placemen  have  made  the  bloody 
pages  of  the  history  of  the  past  three  years.  THEY  WILL  NOT  STOP  THE 
SHEDDING  OF  BLOOD  EVEN  FOR  A  LITTLE  TIME  TO  SEE  IF 
CHRISTIAN  CHARITY  OR  THE  WISDOM  OF  STATESMANSHIP 
MAY  NOT  WORK  OUT  A  METHOD  TO  SAVE  OUR  COUNTRY. 
Nay,  more  than  this,  they  will  not  listen  to  a  proposal  for  peace  which  does 
not  offer  that  which  this  Government  has  no  right  to  ask.” 

No  Condition  but  Unconditional  Surrender. 

“  WE  DEMAND  NOteONDITIONS  FOR  THE  RESTORATION  OF  OUR'UNION ; 
we  are  shackled  with  no  hates,  no  prejudices,  no  passions.  We  wish  for  fraternal  rela¬ 
tionship  with  the  people  of  the  South.  We  demand  for  them  what  we  demand  for  our¬ 
selves— THE  FULL  RECOGNITION  OF  THE  RIGHTS  OF  STATES. 

“But  if  the  Administration  cannot  save  the  Union,  we  can.  Mr.  LINCOLN  VALUES 
MANY  THINGS  ABOVE  THE  UNION ;  we  put  it  first  of  all.  HE  THINKS  A  PRO¬ 
CLAMATION  WORTH  MORE  THAN  PEACE  ;  we  think  the  blood  of  our  people  more 
precious  than  the  edicts  of  the  President.  THERE  ARE  NO  HINDR  ANCES  IN  OUR 
PATHWAY  TO  UNION  AND  PEACE.” 

The  Union  Cannot  be  Saved. 

“  THIS  ADMINISTRATION  CANNOT  NOW  SAVE  THE  UNION  IF  IT  WOULD. 
It  has  by  its  proclamation,  by  vindictive  legislation ,  by  displays  of  hate  and  passion , 
placed  obsticles  in  its  own  pathway  which  it  cannot  overcome,  and  has  hampered  its  own 
freedom  of  action  by  unconstitutional  acts.” 

He  Votes  the  War  a  Failure. 

Second  Plank  of  the  National  Democratic  Platform  of  1864: 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  does  explicitly  declare,  as  the  sense  of  the  American 
People,  that  AFTER  FOUR  YEARS  OF  FAILURE  TO  RESTORE  THE  UNION  BY 
THEiEXPERIMENT  OF  WAR,  DURING  WHICH,  UNDER  THE  PRETENSE  OF  A 
MILITARY  NECESSITY  OF  A  WAR  POWER  HIGHER  THAN  THE  CONSTITU¬ 
TION,  THE  CONSTITUTION  ITSELF  HAS  BEEN  DISREGARDED  IN  EVERY 
PART  and  public  liberty  and  private  right  alike  trodden  down  and  the  material  prosperity 
of  the  countrv  essentially  impaired ;  justice,  humanity,  liberty,  and  the  public  welfare 
DEMAND  THAT  IMMEDIATE  EFFORTS  BE  MADE  FOR  A  CESSATION  OF 
HOSTILITIES  WITH  A  VIEW  TO  AN  ULTIMATE  CONVENTION  OF  ALL  THE 
STATES,  or  other  peaceable  means,  to  the  end  that  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment 
peace  may  be  restored  on  the  basis  of  the  Federal  Union  of  the  States. 

Seymour  and  the  New  York  Convention  Endorse  Blair. 

The  New  York  Copperhead  Convention,  which  did  not  contain  a  loyal  dele¬ 
gate  from  the  South,  nor  one  who  had  not  taken  an  active  part  against  the  Gov- 


eminent,  gave  General  Hampton,  the  bitterest  rebel  of  them  all,  unconditional 
authority  to  place  any  plank  in  the  platform  the  South  might  demand ;  and  he 
placed  there  this  endorsement  of  Blair’s  threat  of  civil  war,  which  the  Con¬ 
vention  approved  by  acclamation : 

“ Resolved ,  THAT  WE  REGARD  THE  RECONSTRUCTION  ACTS  (SO  CALLED) 
OF  CONGRESS  AS  USURPATIONS,  AND  UNCONSTITUTIONAL,  REVOLU¬ 
TIONARY,  AND  VOID.” 

Seymour’s  letter  of  acceptance  says : 

“I  HAVE  CAREFULLY  READ  THE  RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY  THE  CON¬ 
VENTION,  AND  MOST  CORDIALLY  CONCUR  IN  EVERY  PRINCIPLE  AND 
SENTIMENT  THEY  ADVANCE.” 

Seymour  Pledged  to  Revolution. 

Mr.  Seymour  cordially  endorses  the  New  York  Platform  which  endorsee 
Blair’s  treason  and  promises  the  overthrow  of  the  reconstructed  State  govern¬ 
ments  and  all  the  reconstruction  laws  of  Congress,  and  repudiates  our  bonds. 
The  Montgomery  (Ala.)  News  thus  defines  Mr.  Seymour’s  position  : 

“  The  Democratic  party  put  Mr.  Seymour  on  the  same  ticket  with  General 
Blair  after  the  latter  wrote  his  celebrated  letter ,  and  we  have  never  heard  that  any 
of  the  parties  to  the  copartnership  have  ever  fallen  out  about  it.  On  the  contrary, 
they  have  not  only  not  fallen  out  about  it,  but  they  have  all  fallen  in  about  it, 
and  the  country  is  imitating  their  example.  Our  correspondent  MAY  REST 
ASSURED  THAT  UNDER  SEYMOUR  AND  BLAIR,  WITH  OR 
WITHOUT  PLATFORM  OR  LETTER,  ‘  THE  COB-HOUSES  OF  RE¬ 
CONSTRUCTION,’  TO  USE  THE  LANGUAGE  OF  MILLARD  FILL  ■ 
MORE,  ‘MUST  GIVE  WAY  TO  DEMOCRATIC  STRUCTURES.’ 
THAT’S  ALL  ABOUT  IT.” 

On  the  Greenbacks  Before  the  Convention. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  only  ten  days  before  the  Copperhead  and  rebel  Con¬ 
vention  in  New7  Yrork,  Mr.  Seymour  made  a  speech  in  the  Cooper  Institute  upon 
the  wickedness  and  folly  of  the  greenback-Pendleton  system,  in  which  he  said : 

u  The  amount  in  savings  banks,  in  this  State  alone,  is  $140,000,000.  This  shows  that 
there  must  be  at  least  $500,000,000  of  money  thus  deposited  in  all  the  States.  The  aver¬ 
age  of  the  deposits  in  1807,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  was  $270.  THE  NUMBER  OF 
DEPOSITORS  IN  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK  IS  ABOUT  FIVE  HUNDRED 
THOUSAND,  (487,479,)  and  in  the  city  they  number  more  than  one-third  of  the  popula¬ 
tion.  This  will  make  the  number  of  depositors  in  the  Union  more  than  ONE  MILLION 
EIGHT  HUNDRED  THOUSAND.  In  the  State  of  Connecticut,  in  18G5,  one-quarter 
of  its  population  had  deposits  in  savings  banks.  It  is  not  usual  for  men  of  small  prop¬ 
erty  to  insure  their  lives.  The  number  of  policies  given  out  by  all  the  life  insurance  com¬ 
panies  are  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  and  the  amount  of  insurance  about  one 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions.  The  money  invested  is  held  as  a  sacred  trust ,  as 
it  is  a  fund  laid  aside  for  their  families  when  the  insured  die.  All  of  the  funds  of  sav¬ 
ings  bank  and  life  insurance  companies  are  not  put  in  Government  bonds,  BUT  THEY 
HOLD  AN  AMOUNT  WHICH  WOULD  CRIPPLE  OR  RUIN  THEM  IF  THE 
BONDS  ARE  NOT  PAID,  OR  IF  THEY  ARE  PAID  IN  DEBASED  PAPER.  IF 
WE  ADD  THE  TRUSTS  FOR  WIDOWS  AND  ORPHANS  WE  FIND  THAT 
TWO  MILLION  FIVE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  PERSONS  ARE  INTERESTED 
IN  GOVERNMENT  BONDS  WHO  ARE  NOT  CAPITALISTS,  and  who  are  compul¬ 
sory  owners  at  present  prices  under  the  operations  of  our  laws.  There  is  a  fear  that  this 
state  of  things  will  make  a  clashing  of  interest  between  the  labor  of  the  East  and  the 
labor  of  the  West. 

,  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

“If  we  make  our  paper  money  good  by  a  harsh  system  of  contraction,  we  shall  cripple 
the  energies  of  the  country  and  make  bankruptcy  and  ruin.  IF,  ON  THE  OTHER 
HAND  WE  DEBASE  THE  CURRENCY  BY  UNWISE  ISSUES,  WE  SHAM, 
EQUALLY  PERPLEX  BUSINESS  AND  DESTROY  SOBER  INDUSTRY*  AND 
MAKE  ALL  PRICES  MERE  MATTERS  OF  GAMBLING,  TRICKS,  AND  CHANCES. 
This  will  end  as  it  did  in  the  Southern  Confederacy.  At  the  outset  the  citizens  of  Rich¬ 
mond  went  to  market  with  their  money  in  their  vest  pockets  and  brought  back  their  din¬ 
ners  in  the’tr  baskets;  in  the  end  they  took  their  money  in  their  baskets  and  took  home 


6 

% 

u.  sir  dinners  in  their  vest  pockets.  Make  our  money  good  by  an  honest  and  wise  course , 
wM  when  this  is  done  it  will  be  worth  twenty -jive  per  cent .  more  than  it  is  now ,  which  will 
be  equal  to  an  increase  of  one-quarter  in  the  amount  of  currency .” 


After  the  Convention. 

The  Convention  having  practically  decided  to  repudiate  our  debt,  or  in  Mr.  Seymour’s 
language,  to  debase  our  currency  and  render  it  worthless  by  paying  our  bonds  in  green¬ 
backs,  he  turned  a  short  corner  and  declares  his  cordial  approval  of  the  platform. 

The  Union  as  it  Was. 

'•  Mr.  Seymour  is  for  the  restoration  of  the  States  pure  and  simple  under  the  Constitu¬ 
tion,  and,  of  course,  for  the  discontinuance  of  the  Freedman’s  Bureau,  the  withdrawal  of 
troops,  the  self-government  of  each  State  by  its  own  citizens,  and  under  such  a  rule  of  suf¬ 
frage  as  its  own  separate  sovereignty  shall  prescribe.  He  styles  the  uprising  of  the  South 
a  rebellion,  but  he  is  in  favor  of  restoring  the  staiis  quo  ante  bellum.  In  the  same  con¬ 
nection  appears  the  most  useful  sentence  of  the  letter.  HE  CONSIDERS  HIMSELF  A 
PARTY  TO  THE  PLATFORM,  WHICH  IS,  IN  HIS  OPINION,  IN  THE  NATURE  OF 
A  CONTRACT  WITH  THE  PEOPLE.  That  platform,  as  our  readers  understand, 
TREATS  ALL  THE  STEPS  OF  THE  SO-CALLED  RECONSTRUCTION,  BY  THE 
MULTITUDINOUS  ACTS  OF  CONGRESS,  AS  REVOLUTIONARY,  AND  NOT 
SIMPLY  UNCONSTITUTIONAL.” — Cincinnati  West  and  South. 


Letter  to  the  Military  Authorities  Justifying  Mobs. 

The  day  Meade  whipped  the  rebels  at  Gettysburg,  Seymour  was  thus  talking 
treason  in  New  York.  Our  armies  were  in  sore  need  of  reinforcements,  and 
a  draft  had  been  ordered.  Volunteering  failed  to  fill  the  requirements  of  the 
service.  The  draft  was  a  matter  of  necessity.  Horatio  Seymour  said  : 

u  We  only  ask  that  you  shall  give  to  us  that  which  you  claim  for  yourselves,  and  that 
which  every  freeman  and  every  man  who  respects  himself  will  have,  freedom  of  speech, 
the  right  to  exercise  all  the  rights  conferred  by  the  Constitution  upon  American  citizens. 
[Great  applause.]  CAN  YOU  SAFELY  DENY  US  THESE?  Will  you  not  trample 
upon  your  own  rights  if  you  refuse  to  listen?  DO  YOU  NOT  CREATE  REVOLU¬ 
TION  WHEN  YOU  SAY  THAT  YOUR  PERSONS  MAY  BE  RIGHTFULLY 
SEIZED.  YOUR  PROPERTY  CONFISCATED,  YOUR  HOMES  ENTERED?  ARE 
YOU  NOT  EXPOSING  YOURSELVES,  YOUR  OWN  INTERESTS,  TO  AS  GREAT 
A  PERIL  AS  THAT  WITH  WHICH  YOU  THREATEN  US  ?  REMEMBER  THIS, 
THAT  THE  BLOODY,  AND  TREASONABLE,  AND  REVOLUTIONARY  DOC¬ 
TRINE  OF  PUBLIC  NECESSITY  CAN  BE  PROCLAIMED  BY  A  MOB  AS  WELL 
AS  BY  A  GOVERNMENT.  [Applause.] 

u  When  men  accept  despotism,  they  may  have  a  choice  as  to  who  that  despot  shall  be. 
The  struggle  then  will  not  be,  shall  we  have  Constitutional  liberty?  But,  having  accepted 
the  doctrine  that  the  Constitution  has  lost  its  force,  EVERY1  INSTINCT  OF  PER¬ 
SONAL  AMBITION,  EVERY  INSTINCT  OF  PERSONAL  SECURITY,  WILL 
LEAD  MEN  TO  PUT  THEMSELVES  UNDER  THE  PROTECTION  OF  THAT 
POWER  WHICH  THEY  SUPPOSE  MOST  COMPETENT  TO  GUARD  THEIR 
PERSONS. 


More  Rebel  Sympathy. 

In  the  fall  of  1862,  a#  Triennial  Episcopal  Convention  was  held  in  Trin¬ 
ity  Church,  New  York.  Murray  Hoffman,  Dr.  Vinton  and  others  moved 
and  advocated  patriotic  resolutions ;  and  the  eloquent  Dr.  Goodwin  deliv¬ 
ered  an  exhaustive  speech  on  the  subject,  in  which  he  earnestly  pressed 
their  adoption.  The  next  day  the  subject  came  up  again,  the  question  being 
on  Judge  Carpenter’s  (of  New  Jersey)  resolution,  calling  on  the  Bishop  for  a 
form  of  prayer  in  relation  to  the  wicked  rebellion  now  prevailing  in  the  land,  for 
the  safety  of  our  country  and  the  success  of  our  armies.  Horatio  Seymour  took 
the  floor  and  made  a  long  speech  in  opposition.  “HE  WAS  OPPOSED  TO 
PRONOUNCING  AN  OPINION  AGAINST  OUR  SOUTHERN  BRETH¬ 
REN.  The  measure  seemed  to  him  like  the  Pope's  bull  against  the  comet.  He 
begged  them  to  pause  before  condemning  the  absent,  condemning  thousands  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  brethren,  not  a  man  of  whom  was  there  to  speak  for  him - 
self." 


Mr-  Seymour  by  an  Impartial  Foreigner. 

Gen.  De  Trobriand  is  the  highest  French  authority  on  military  matters.  In 
his  history  of  over  five  years’  operations  on  the-  Potomac  he  has  a  word  to  say 
on  the  attitude  of  the  Governor  of  New  York  in  the  dark  days  of  the  Union, 
the  summer  of  1863: 

“  The  Governor,  Horatio  Seymour,  whose  attitude  and  conduct  toward  the  National 
Government  had  been  of  a  character  to  encourage  rather  than  to  prevent  the  riots ,  HAD 
NO  THOUGHT  EXCEPT  IN  CONCERT  WITH  IIIS  PARTY,  TO  MAKE  CAPI¬ 
TAL  OF  THEM  IN  ORDER  TO  HINDER  THE  ENROLLMENT.  Under  the  pretense 
of  ascertaining  whether  some  error  had  not  stolen  into  the  reckoning  of  the  State's  contin¬ 
gent,  and  of  waiting  until  the  question  of  the  constitutionality  of  the  law  could  be  sub¬ 
mitted  to  judicial  tribunals,  he  demanded  of  the  President  the  indefinite  postponement  of  the 
draft.  The  object  of  this  attempt  was  plain.  IT  WAS  TO  DRY  UP  THE  SOURCE  OF 
THE  REINFORCEMENTS  NECESSARY  TO  THE  ARMY,  IN  ORDER  TO  LESSEN, 
IF  NOT  DESTROY,  THE  RESULT  OF  THE  VICTORIES  OF  GETTYSBURG  AND 
VICKSBURG,  and,  while  the  Confederate  government  should  renew  its  forces  by  uni¬ 
versal  conscription,  to  reduce  our  forces  by  stopping  the  draft  and  discouraging  volunteer¬ 
ing.  These  were  the  means  by  which  the  peace  Democrats  of  the  North  attempted  to  obtain 
either  the  final  recognition  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  or  the  establishment  of  a  new 
Union,  founded  on  the  subjection  of  the  free  States  to  the  supremacy  of  the  slave  States-” 


Proof  of  the  Above. 


Governor  Seymour  appealed  to  President  Lincoln  to  stop  the  draft,  as  thoug1 
it  were  an  act  of  wanton,  needless,  tyrannical  exaction,  and  not  a  stern  neces¬ 
sity  required  for  the  national  safety — saying : 

“It  is  believed  by  AT  LEAST  ONE-HALF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  LOYAL 
STATES  that  the  conscription  act,  which  they  are  called  upon  to  obey,  because  it  is  on 
the  statute-book,  IS  IN  ITSELF  A  VIOLATION  OF  THE  SUPREME  CONSTITU¬ 
TIONAL  LAWS.  *  *  *  *  I  do  not  dwell  upon  what  I  believe  would  be  the  conse¬ 
quence  of  a  violent,  harsh  policy,  before  the  constitutionality  of  the  act  is  tested.  THE 
TEMPER  OF  THE  PEOPLE  TO-DAY  YOU  MAY  EASILY  LEARN.” 


Slavery  First— the  Union  Afterwards. 

The  Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency  said  in  Utica,  in  1861 : 

“IF  IT  BE  TRUE  THAT  SLAVERY  MUST  BE  ABOLISHED  TO  SAVE  THE 
UNION,  THEN  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SOUTH  SHOULD  BE  ALLOWED  TO 
WITHDRAW  THEMSELVES  FROM  THE  GOVERNMENT  WHICH  CANNOT 
GIVE  THEM  GUARANTEES  IN  ITS  TERMS.” 

The  War  Worth  what  it- Cost. 

“THE  WAR  HAS  HAD  THIS  COMPENSATION:  IT  ENDED  SLAVERY. 
HISTORY  WILL  SAY  ALL  WAS  WELL  SPENT  IN  ERASING  THIS  BLOT, 
TRANSMITTED  FROM  A  COMMON  ANCESTRY,  TARNISHING  OUR  FAME, 
AND  BELYING  OUR  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.”—  Hon.  Reverdy 
Johnson,  at  Sheffield,  August,  1868. 


Seeking  English  Intervention. 

Not  satisfied  with  his  efforts  to  stop  the  draft  and  destroy  the  credit  of  the 
Government,  Mr.  Seymour  attempted  to  procure  the  intervention  of  England. 
Lord  Lyon,  the  English  minister  at  that  time,  gives  this  account  of  the  effort 
of  himself  and  his  friends  to  procure  that  result: 

“  Several  of  the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  sought  interviews  with  me  both  before 
and  after  the  arrival  of  the  intelligence  of  General  McClellan'1  s  dismissal •  The  subject 
uppermost  in  their  minds,  while  they  were  speaking  to  me  WAS  NATURALLY  THAT 
OF  FOREIGN  MEDIATION  BETWEEN  THE  NOltTH  AND  SOUTH.  Many  of 
them  seem  to  think  that  this  mediation  must  come  at  last;  but  they  appeared  to  be 
very  much  afraid  of  its  coming  too  soon.  It  was  evident  that  they  apprehended  that  a 
premature  proposal  of  foreign  intervention  would  afford  the  Radical  parti/  A  MEANS  OF 
REVIVING  THE  VIOLENT  WAR  SPIRIT,  AND  OF  THUS  DEFEATING  THE 


PEACEFUL  PLANS  OF  THE  CONSERVATIVES.  They  appeared  to  regard  .the 
present  moment  as  peculiarly  unfavorable  for  such  an  offer,  and  indeed,  to  hold  that  it 
would  be  essential  to  the  success  of  any  proposal  from  abroad  that  it  should  be  deferred 


8 

until  the  control  of  the  Executive  Government  should  he  in  the  hands  of  the  Conservative 
party. 

“I  gave  no  opinion  on  the  subject.  I  did  not  say  whether  or  no  I  myself  thought  for¬ 
eign  intervention  probable  or  desirable  :  but  I  listened  with  attention  to  the  accounts  given 
me  of  the  plans  and  hopes  of  the  Conservative  party.  At  the  bottom  I  thought  I  perceived 
a  desire  to  put  an  end  to  the  war,  EVEN  AT  THE  RISK  OF  LOSING  THE  SOUTH¬ 
ERN  STATES  ALTOGETHER:  but  it  was  plain  it  was  not  thought  prudent  to  avow 
tins  desire.  INDEED,  SOME  HINTS  OF  IT,  DROPPED  BEFORE  THE  ELEC¬ 
TIONS,  WERE  SO  ILL  RECEIVED  THAT  A  STRONG  DECLARATION  IN 
THE  CONTRARY  SENSE  WAS  DEEMED  NECESSARY  BY  THE  DEMOCRATIC 
LEADERS.” 

Clamoring  for  Victory. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  Mr.  Seymour  made  a  speech  in  Nesv  York.  A 
patriot  would  have  taken  the  occasion  as  one  to  inspire  hope  in  the  people  and 
faith  in  their  cause,  and  not  one  to  ridicule  the  effort®  of  our  soldiers  in  the 
field.  But  Mr.  Seymour  says: 

“  When  I  accepted  the  invitation  to  speak,  with  ethers,  at  this  meeting,  we  were  prom¬ 
ised  the  downfall  of  Vicksburg,  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi,  the  probable  capture  of  the 
Confederate  capital  and  the-exhaustion  of  the  rebellion.  By  common  consent,  all  parties 
had  fixed  upon  the  same  day  when  the  results  of  the  campaign  should  be  known,  to  mark 
out  the  line  of  policy  which  they  felt  that  our  country  should  pursue,  BUT,  IN  THE 
MOMENT  OF  EXPECTED  VICTORY,  THERE  CAME  THE  MIDNIGHT  CRY  FOR 
HELP  FROM  PENNSYLVANIA  TO  SAVE  ITS  DESPOILED  FIELDS  FROM  THE 
INVADING  FOE  ;  and,  almost  within  sight  of  this  great  commercial  metropolis,  the 
ships  of  your  merchants  were  burned  to  the  water’s  edge. 

Talk  to  His  Friends. 

This  was  on  the  4tli  of  July.  On  the  13th  of  July  the  mob  came.  It  swept 
New  York  as  with  the  besom  of  destruction.  It  had  Governor  Seymour’s 
threat  to  justify  its  action.  Governor  Seymour  is  sent  for.  He  comes.  He 
speaks  to  the  rioters.  He  says  : 

u  My  Friends — I  have  come  down  from  the  quiet  of  the  country  to  see  what  was  the 
difficulty,  to  learn  that  all  the  trouble  was  concerning  the  draft.  Let  me  assure  you  that 
I  am  your  friend.  [Uproarious  cheering.]  You  have  been  my  friends,  [cries  of  ‘  yes,’ 
‘  that’s  so,’  ‘  weare  and  will  be  again,’]  and  now,  I  assure  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  that  I 
am  here  to  show  you  a  test  of  my  friendship.  [Cheers.]  I  WISH  TO  INFORM  YOU 
THAT  I  HAVE  SENT  MY  ADJUTANT  GENERAL  TO  WASHINGTON  TO  CON¬ 
FER  WITH  THE  AUTHORITIES  THERE,  AND  TO  HAVE  THIS  DRAFT  SUS¬ 
PENDED  OR  STOPPED.  [Vociferous  cheering.]  I  ask  you  as  good  citizens  to  wait 
for  his  return.  I  wish  you  to  take  good  care  of  all  property  as  good  citizens,  and  see  that 
every  person  is  safe.  The  safe  keeping  of  persons  and  property  rests  with  you,  and  J 
charge  you  t <o  disturb  neither.  It  is  your  duty  to  maintain  the  good  order  of  the  city  ;  and 
I  know  you  will  do  it.  I  wish  you  to  separate  as  good  citizens  and  YOU  CAN  ASSEM¬ 
BLE  AGAIN  WHENEVER  YOU  WISH  TO  DO  SO.  I  ask  you  to  leave  all  to  me 
now,  and  I  will  see  to  your  rights'.  WAIT  UNTIL  MY  ADJUTANT  GENERAL  RE¬ 
TURNS  FROM  WASHINGTON.” 

Seymour  and  Vallandigham— Interposing  More  Obstacles- 

[‘If  this  proceeding  is  approved  by  the  Government  and  sanctioned  by  the  people,  it  is 
not  merely  a  step  toward  revolution — IT  IS  REVOLUTION.  It  will  not  only  lead  to 
military  despotism — it  establishes  military  despotism.  In  this  aspect  it  must  be  accepted, 
or  in  this  aspect  rejected.  *  *  *  *  The  people  of  this  country  now  wait 

with  the  deepest  anxiety  the  decision  of  the  Administration  upon  these  acts.  Having 
given  it  a  generous  support  in  the  conduct  of  the  war,  WE  PAUSE  TO  SEE  WHAT 
KIND  OF  A  GOVERNMENT  IT  IS  FOR  WHICH  WE  ARE  ASKED  TO  POUR 
OUT  BLOOD  AND  TREASURE.  THE  ACTION  OF  THE  ADMINISTRATION 
WILL'  DETERMINE  IN  THE  MINDS  OF  MORE  THAN  ONE-HALF  OF  THE 
PEOPLE  OF  THE  LOYAL  STATES,  WHETHER  THIS  WAR  IS  WAGED  TO 
PUT  DOWN  THE  REBELLION  AT  THE  SOUTH,  OR  DESTROY  FREE  INSTI¬ 
TUTIONS  AT  THE  NORTH.” 


PRINTED  AT  THE  OFFICE  OF  TOE  GREAT  REPUBLIC,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


